


Sophisticated Ladies

by wonderwanda



Category: Ratched (TV)
Genre: F/F, Mexico road trip shenanigans, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28127763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonderwanda/pseuds/wonderwanda
Summary: Mildred hums along with Duke Ellington on the radio, paying extra attention to every tiny morsel of human voice between songs, lest there be news ofhim.
Relationships: Gwendolyn Briggs/Mildred Ratched
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Sophisticated Ladies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kameiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kameiko/gifts).



> Ratched ruined my life in the best way. (Seriously: my roommate and I watched the oyster scene together and screamed like school children.) This piece ended up turning out a lot softer than I’d imagined it would when I wrote my outline. I hope it’s to your liking!

**DAY**

The car is packed, their names tidily portmanteued, they practice the following phrase on the drive: _ella es mi hermana._

Mildred repeats it over and over as though she’s rotating the wheels of a train “Mi hermana, mi hermana, mi hermana…” After a while her soft voice lulls Gwendolyn to sleep.

Neither of them has a plan to begin with but reality takes them further than they could have ever imagined. Mildred hums along with Duke Ellington on the radio, paying extra attention to every tiny morsel of human voice between songs, lest there be news of him. She feels a light tug at her elbow that causes her to flinch out of reflex. 

“Please pull over.” 

Mildred looks over at Gwendolyn, as though she was expecting to see someone else, and remembers that despite being scared practically shitless, at least they’re together. She obliges, and slows the car to a stop. Gwendolyn opens the door, and stands by the side of the road retching. Mildred soon joins her, placing a soft hand on her back. After a queasy moment, they get back in the car. Gwen faces forward, wanting nothing more than to forget being ill. Mildred looks at the face of her love, unnoticed, before inquiring. 

“Are you ready?” 

“Mhm.” 

As they shift to third, Gwen places her hand on top of Mildred’s. 

**NIGHT**

They reach their accommodations with little fanfare. Gwendolyn opens her dictionary as they approach the front desk. 

“Un hab-i-tashion por favor.” 

“EL-la es mi her-mana.” Mildred blurts nervously.

The desk attendant nods and shows them to their room. 

After he leaves, they set their things down on the bed. Gwendolyn begins to unpack, and Mildred sits next to their suitcases trying to make sense of the last few weeks. She hadn’t wanted Edmund to escape, she just wanted to keep him alive. Before she knew it, they had crammed their most important things into a few small bags and took off. 

Now they are in another country and they’ll be safe, right? They’re together so they’ll be safe, right? 

_Right?_

Gwen returns with empanadas. Mildred hasn’t moved since they’ve arrived. 

“I didn’t know what you’d like so I got us one of each to share.” Gwen sets their food down next to Mildred, which causes her love to wince.

“I’m sorry.” Mildred stifles.

“It’s ok.” Gwendolyn smiles. It’s then that they both realize getting settled may take longer than they’d initially thought. 

After slipping into their nightgowns to retire for the evening, Gwen turns off the last lamp before sliding into bed next to Mildred. After a prolonged silence, Mildred speaks: 

“Can we turn the light back on?” Mildred purses her lips before speaking again. “It’s just that we made it all this way and I would hate to…” What she wants to say is _‘have Edmund interrupt us.’_ What she actually says is: “not be able to really see you.” 

Gwen puts a hand on Mildred’s shoulder and obliges by turning their light back on. They lay in bed together for a moment, facing each other. 

“I love you.” Gwen breathes. “I’m so happy we’re here.”

**DAY**

Gwendolyn slips out of bed, trying not to disturb the peaceful sleep of her partner. The effort is futile as Mildred awakes when she reaches for her love, and her arms instead rub an empty space in their bed. For a moment, she panics. Her panic is scored by dry heaving, and then a thought: _OUR bed. We made it._ Her relief is momentary. As Gwen leaves the bathroom, Mildred opens their Spanish-English dictionary, and takes out a notepad. 

“Let’s go get something to eat.” Gwen dabs her lips with a washcloth. 

“We need to find you a doctor.” 

“I’m sure we can do that after breakfast.” 

“The longer we wait…” Gwen cups Mildred’s face in her hand, smiling. “Just let me figure out what to say.” 

Mildred flips through her book, writing careful notes. _Perdon. Mi español…_ she sighs, and crosses through everything. 

“Hmmm…” _El-la necessita el doctor por el cancer._ “How do you say I’m sorry?” 

Gwen grabs Mildred’s hand and kisses it. 

“I just don’t want you to be miserable while we’re here.” Mildred furrows her brow with concern.

“I’m not miserable. Not with you.” 

After Mildred scribes an acceptable note to hand to whichever doctor they see first; they leave their room with a beach blanket, find the closest place with pan dulce, and head to the ocean. Gwen makes an effort to help carry everything, but Mildred is insistent that she not lift a finger. 

After a moment, they find the perfect spot, and set up their breakfast picnic. 

**NIGHT**

“How does this sound: Hola, me llamo Mildred, esta es mi hermana Gwendolyn. Ella necesita un doctor por el cancer.” Mildred holds the dictionary in her hands, searching Gwen’s face for approval. 

“I’m sure they’ll be able to understand us.” Gwen snaps her clutch closed. “I’m going to go get paletas from the street vendor, care to join me?” 

“I’d rather stay and practice.” 

“Ok, I’ll be back.” 

They smile at one another, Mildred takes out her notes. After the door latches she writes, _te quiero mucho_ and draws hearts around it like a schoolgirl. She rips the paper in half and slides it under Gwendolyn’s pillow.

Mildred opens her dictionary again. “Ella necesita un doctor por…” She pauses. “ _Para_ el cancer.”  
After scribbling her notes down, there are hushed voices outside. Mildred can’t tell if they’re speaking Spanish or English. She closes her dictionary and tiptoes around the room, careful not to make any noise. She shuts off each light, and unplugs one, holding it with a white-knuckled grip. A slight breeze in the palm leaves sends a shock down her spine. _It’s him._ She shivers. _I know it’s him._

The door opens, and Mildred shouts. As she sees Gwen, she starts to sob. 

“I’m sorry, oh I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I had to walk a few extra blocks, I didn’t think it would take me that long.” She puts the ice pops down, and sits next to Mildred on the bed. After a moment, Gwen is able to coax the lamp out of her hands and put it back on the nightstand. Gwen plugs the lamp in, and turns them both back on. 

“Come on, let’s get you in your nightgown.” Mildred, frozen, allows Gwen to undress her button by button, garment by garment. After they’re both dressed for bed, Gwendolyn brings them their paletas and they sit in silence for a moment before each having a taste. 

After they’re finished, Gwen lets Mildred leave her light on, and holds her close under their blankets. 

**DAY**

Mildred approaches the front desk on a mission. 

“Un lista de los doctores por favor.”

The desk attendant hands her a phone book, and opens it to the proper page. 

“Gracias.” 

She starts writing down every name and number there is. After she’s finished, she smiles at the desk attendant before returning to her room. 

Gwendolyn has breakfast set out for them to eat, but Mildred sits down without paying it any notice. 

“I made a list of every doctor in the phone book. We’ll find one who will see you.” 

“I suppose.” 

“I’m going to call them all today.” 

“Have something to eat first, no sense doing all of that work on an empty stomach.” 

After breakfast, Mildred makes it all the way to Jimenez before she’ll find someone who agrees to see Gwendolyn. “Un doctor para el cancer?” She asks. 

“Correcto, si.” 

They make an appointment for that afternoon, and after it’s finished, they decide to take a walk on the beach. 

“These notes will take forever to translate.” 

“But he said lentamente. Slowly.” Gwen squeezes Mildred’s hand. “That means more time with you.” 

**EVENING**

They return home after a light meal, and Gwen decides to take a bath. Mildred helps her disrobe, button by button, garment by garment. She runs the water, tepid, vigilant, just in case. As Gwen steps into the tub, Mildred sits at her side, reading the paper aloud. She makes sure to get an English paper every day out of nervous habit. 

“Secretary of State George Marshall outlined his plan to reinvigorate the European economy with a widely well received European Recovery Plan. The largest recipient of lend-lease funds will be the United Kingdom. President Truman states that allied nations and neutral nations will receive the most aid in the future.” Mildred pauses. “That’s refreshing, I suppose.” 

“Mhmmm.” Gwendolyn lathers up a washcloth. 

“Please.” Mildred sets the paper down, putting her hand on Gwen’s shoulder, and taking the cloth out of her hands. She starts by tenderly bringing the soapy fabric up Gwen’s arm. Mildred sponges every inch of Gwendolyn with surgical precision, taking care that each crevice and crease is attended to. 

The water is cold by the time they get to Gwendolyn’s hair. Neither will touch the faucet. Mildred begins to lather the soap onto her love’s scalp. As she runs her fingers through each strand, a clump falls out into her palm. Mildred stifles her surprise and continues on, making sure to rinse each sud out of Gwendolyn’s hair. 

“Everything ok?” 

“Hm? Yes, almost done.” Despite best efforts, Mildred realizes her quick pause must’ve been noticeable after all. Nevertheless, she continues by standing to grab Gwen a robe. 

**MORNING**

_Her wrists are raw from trying to finagle them out of the rope. He has Gwen held back by her hair, neck exposed, gleaming with sweat. He tilts her head up, chin to the sky, and raises a scalpel._

_“You knew I’d find you eventually, why didn’t you just stay and make it easy for me?”_

_Mildred’s breath catches in her throat._

_“Well ladies, it’s been fun…”_

_“GWEN!”_

Mildred thrashes in bed knocking their blankets to the floor. 

“Gwen, no, no Gwen...Gwen!” She whimpers, knocking Gwendolyn in the face and waking her up. Gwen sits up and brushes Mildred’s hair out of her face. 

“Mildred sweetheart, wake up. Honey, it’s me.” Gwen grabs Mildred’s hand and kisses it. The soft touch awakens her, and the first thing Mildred sees when she opens her eyes is the warm face of her companion. The shock of it all opens the floodgates of tears, and gratitude. Gwen leans over her love, kissing her. 

“I’m right here, I’m right here, I’m right here…” 

They spend the entire day in each other’s arms.


End file.
